‘Blasphemous sketches contest in US a plot against Muslims’

ISLAMABAD: The Senate on Wednesday unanimously adopted a condemnation resolution against the recent blasphemous cartoon contest in the United States, calling for a Holocaust-like legislation in the West so that action could be taken against blasphemers.
Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed moved the resolution that was passed by the House after two amendments were made by the Leader of the House Raja Zafarul Haq and Leader of the Opposition Aitzaz Ahsan.
Aitzaz wanted that Muslims should not fall into a conspiracy while Zafarul Haq had proposed that the freedom of expression must not be misused to malign beliefs and sentiments.The Senate urged the government to take strong notice of this blasphemy and immediately take up the issue of Islamophobia with the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) as well as with the United Nations Human Rights Council.
“The Senate also demands strict legislation similar to that about the Holocaust be enacted in Western countries so that action under the law can be taken against all those who malign Islam or the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him),” the resolution said.
Taking a cognisance of recurring pattern of Islamophobia and attacks on Islam and Muslims, the Senate strongly condemned the latest attempt in the US to malign Islam and the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) through blasphemous sketches. The resolution noted this episode had also resulted in two deaths, as American Muslims reacted to this grave provocation.
The resolution said that earlier, a similar situation arose in Europe when a French magazine provoked the Muslim sentiments by publishing blasphemous sketches. “Such deliberate actions on the part of demented Islam-haters are unacceptable as the personality and image of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) enjoy a sanctity being a pillar of the faith of Islam,” the resolution said.
“These hate crimes also reflect double standards, since such blasphemy is justified as freedom of expression while concurrently, there are laws which imprison those who merely deny the Holocaust. The Senate of Pakistan, representing the sentiments of the people of Pakistan, and the Muslim world as a whole, strongly condemns this pattern of hate speech directed against Islam, which provokes Muslim reaction while also causing grievous injury to Muslim sentiments,” it noted.
Senator Muhammad Ali Saif proposed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should move a resolution in the United Nations General Assembly and send it to its all the concerned bodies.Senator Farhatullah Babar, who moved a call attention notice, called for legislation to bring the intelligence agencies under the ambit of the law so as to protect them from uncalled for and unsubstantiated allegations of involvement in extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and grave human rights violations.
The senator pointed out that the commission on enforced disappearances had also asked for bringing the agencies under the ambit of the law and taking forward its report to the Senate Committee on Human Rights which had last year even proposed a draft legislation for the purpose.
The draft legislation, he claimed, had been forwarded to the government and it was time that it was given a serious consideration in consultation with all the stakeholders. “Such legislation is necessary so that the agencies are protected from unsubstantiated and false allegations against them in cases of grave violations of human rights in Balochistan and elsewhere in the country,” he said.
He recalled that Sabeen Mahmud was assassinated just when she had made available the platform of her NGO for discussion on missing persons in Balochistan to which Mama Qadeer had also been invited. He noted a few weeks before the LUMS management in Lahore had been forced to cancel a similar event to highlight the issue of missing persons in Balochistan.
He said the incidents of kidnapping, killing and dumping in Balochistan needed to be investigated and addressed. Babar also called for making public reports of various commissions set up in the past to investigate various incidents of grave nature, including the raid on Osama bin Laden hideout in Abbottabad, assassination of journalist Saleem Shahzad and the long-forgotten Ojhri ammunition depot fire in Rawalpindi.
MQM Senator Nasreen Jalil tabled a resolution which strongly condemned Sabeen’s targeted killing and saluted her courage and perseverance against all threats. The resolution was adopted by the Senate.
Raza Rabbani also got a nod from the House to add term to the Senate emblem: House of the Federation. A decision to this effect was taken in the House Business Advisory Committee. Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal in response to an adjournment motion moved by Nasreen Jalil and Col (retd) Tahir Hussain Mashhadi told the House that Rs25 billion had been allocated for executing the water supply project (K-4) in Karachi.
Senators Taj Haider, Nehal Hashmi, Usman Kakar and Mukhtar Dhamra were among those who spoke on this matter.The minister noted that it had been agreed that the federal government would pay 50 percent cost of the project, while the rest would be paid by the Sindh government. The federal government, he pointed out, had already released another tranche of Rs200 million, which had not yet been used in executing the project. He urged the Sindh government to pay matching funds for executing the project. He added that the prime minister had also allocated an additional Rs3 billion for the project.
On the issue of ‘addition’ of a column in the Haj application form, State Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Pir Aminul Hasnat made it clear that no change had been made in the Haj form. He explained that the column of indicating sect (of each intending pilgrim) was operative for the last 20 years. The issue was raised by Mohsin Aziz of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday and the Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani had asked the government to explain its position on this.
The minister said the purpose of the column of sect was to facilitate intending pilgrims belonging to Fiqah-e-Jafria as they wanted to return to the country after performing Haj before the start of Moharramul Haram. “The ministry asks for ensuring special arrangements for the intending pilgrims of Fiqah-e-Jafria,” he noted.
During the Question-Hour, a mini-debate was held on the bill on cyber crimes. Minister for Information Technology Anusha Rehman assured the House that all the stake-holders would be taken on board prior to the related legislation. She said the original draft and the amended one were available on the website.
State Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Sheikh Aftab Ahmad told the House that a bullet-proof Mercedez Benz was in the use of ex-CJ Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on the order of the Islamabad High Court and no approval from the prime minister was taken that was a must under the rules.Saeed Ghani had asked whether or not the prime minister’s approval was taken. The minister said bullet-proof vehicles were given after obtaining the competent authority’s approval.